Budget workshops are slated

Derek Gomes Daily News staff writer

Tuesday

Apr 24, 2018 at 2:46 PMApr 25, 2018 at 12:41 PM

PORTSMOUTH -- Town Administrator Richard Rainer gave an overview of his proposed fiscal 2019 budget on Monday, but the crux of the work scrutinizing the $63,247,183 spending plan will come tonight and Wednesday.

At a budget workshop tonight at 7, the Town Council will review revenues and the School Department, police, fire and Department of Public Works budgets. The vetting process will continue at a workshop Wednesday and, if any work remains, will wrap up Thursday. Town Council President Keith Hamilton said he will try and limit each workshop to two hours.

The $63.2 million operational budget proposal is $1.38 million more than the current budget that ends June 30. The budget proposal raises the real estate tax rate from $15.42 for every $1,000 of assessed value to $15.974, a 3.59-percent increase.

Budget drivers that Rainer outlined in a PowerPoint presentation include: $500,000 to begin paying down the principal for the police station bond; $150,000 for election expenses; $137,000 to pay for the Prudence Island transfer station from the general fund; and $85,000 for legal expenses related to a "tax case." A drop in state aid is anticipated to total $371,000, Rainer told the council Monday.

Measures that would be taken to limit costs include no new hires and budget cuts in every town department, he added. The School Department is being asked to fund its capital projects from its fund balance.

The budget proposal lowers the town's expected tax collection from 97.43 percent in the current budget to 97.36 percent. Town tax assessor Matthew Helfand has already collected the "low-hanging fruits" of outstanding tax revenue, Rainer said.

The vast majority of town revenues comes from taxes. In the budget proposal, taxes account for $54,381,575 in total revenue. Residential taxes make up about $46.3 million of that total.

Education accounts for 59 percent of town spending, followed by public safety at 12 percent and benefits and taxes at 10 percent.

Only 10 municipalities had a tax rate lower than Portsmouth's in fiscal 2018, according to the PowerPoint. Among communities that have their own school district and professional police and fire departments, like Portsmouth, only three had lower tax rates: Newport, Narragansett and Little Compton.

According to a budget calendar, the council will adopt a provisional budget Monday, May 14, hold a public hearing June 13 and adopt a final budget June 25.

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